The present invention relates to an oil pump control valve, and more particularly, to an oil pump control valve capable of constantly maintaining the pressure of oil that is pumped from an oil pump and is ejected into an engine.
The engine of a vehicle is designed to circulate oil for lubrication and cooling of various components mounted therein. This engine includes an oil pump for circulating oil, and a relief valve for preventing a pressure of oil pumped by the oil pump to be excessively increased.
An oil pump will be described with reference to a prior art (Korean Patent Publication No. 2011-0056811. As shown in FIG. 5, an oil pump 1 includes a housing 10 in which a transport path 12 is formed, and a relief valve 20 mounted on the transport path 12. With this structure, oil is supplied from a lower end of the housing 10 and transported through the transport path 12. In this transport path, the oil is compressed to a predetermined pressure. Then, the oil is ejected through a side of the housing 10. At this time, the relief valve 20 mounted on the transport path 12 serves to discharge some of the oil to be ejected when the pressure of the ejected oil is excessively increased. Specifically, when the pressure of the ejected oil is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, the relief valve 20 is operated to open a drain port 22, thereby discharging some of the oil.
However, since the oil pump 1 having the aforementioned structure is operated by the action of a camshaft, an increase in the rpm (revolutions per minute) of the engine brings about a rise in the pressure of the oil ejected by the oil pump 1. This rise in the pressure of the oil acts as a disturbance in the constant pressure of the oil circulated in the engine, thereby making it difficult to facilitate smooth lubrication and cooling of various components such as a cylinder head or a cylinder block. Particularly, excessive pressure is applied to the components, thereby deteriorating durability thereof significantly.
In view of the above, the present invention provides an oil pump control valve capable of constantly maintaining the pressure of oil that is pumped from an oil pump and is ejected into an engine.